The importance of a good K-12 education cannot be overstated. The United States tests horribly as compared with the rest of the developed world, leading to American children being ill prepared for college and careers in a global economy after high school graduation. At this point in time, America is the only global superpower. However,…
The nature of warfare in the 21st century is changing. Rapidly advancing technology has provided militaries with a significant level of funding, particularly that of the United States, with access to equipment such as radar-evading stealth aircraft and long-range missiles. One relatively new technology becoming increasingly relied upon by the U.S. is that of unmanned…
Terrifying numbers of shootings in recent months have spurred talks about gun control in relation to mental illness. Many politicians are pointing to mental illness as a leading cause of gun violence. While it’s true that more energy and resources need to be put into our broken mental health system, mental health laws spurred by…
Bahrain – The Forgotten Revolution In late 2010 we witnessed the beginning of a series of events that would radically alter the political and social landscapes of the Middle East and Northern Africa. These events, which later became known as the “Arab Spring”, began with an unprecedented wave of pro-democracy protests against the various authoritarian…
Women have not been allowed to fight in front-line units since 1994, but have been attached to all-male combat troops as photographers, medics, military police officers, etc. While they were fired upon at times, they would not intentionally head into combat. The Pentagon’s recent decision to allow women into front-line combat units adds to the…
Just a few months ago in September, I wrote a piece for The Concordian Politics called “Charting a Course”. The gist of the piece was basically the idea that the United States needs to disabuse itself of the notion that it can unilaterally shape the affairs of the world to its liking. In the United Nations the…
Fox News and MSNBC have something very important in common: people aren’t listening to a word they say. Voter trust in the media is reaching new lows, with only 26% of Republicans saying that they trust the media a “great deal” or a “fair amount.” 60% of Americans say they trust the mass media “not very much”…
It should be obvious to anyone who follows the news even cursorily that the biggest issue in Washington right now is the matter of the upcoming “fiscal cliff.” If this seems like an overly dramatic expression, it’s because the issue itself is extraordinarily dramatic and, if allowed to transpire, threatens to unleash a host of…
The swirling controversy surrounding the resignation of the director of the CIA, former four-star general David Petraeus, because of an extramarital affair is extremely perturbing. Surprisingly, the affair is perhaps the least bothersome piece of information about the whole situation. This is in no way to diminish the significance of General Petraeus’s actions; he made…
In 2004, 60.4% of eligible voters cast their vote at the polls, as compared to 54.2% in 2000. In 2008, that number rose yet again, with 62.3% voting. However, in this election of 2012, America followed up its two steps forward with a step backward: only 57.5% voted. While voter turnout wasn’t as bad in 2012 as…